Christine, I Love You
by littlej281
Summary: This is a Phantom of the Opera Story. If my name isn't in the credits to the musical, it is safe to say I don't own it. There is a glitvh, so it may seem like I'm not updating but I'm updating just about every other day
1. Chapter 1

Prologue (Christine)

The red rose with the black ribbon was his trademark. When he gave it to me, I thought of it as a trophy. It made me feel like I was different from all the rest. Like, in some way, I was special. But soon the admiration toward it turned to the fear of it. What used to give me happiness now only gave me grief. Now, the rose symbolizes tragedy, mystery, and genius turned to madness. He was a musician, a composer, and an inventor; an architect, a genius, a magician, and a master of illusion. He used to make me happy. My soul would fill with bliss upon hearing his voice. I used to love to hear his voice. To be taken down to his lair. To sing both with him and for him. He would teach me, help me, inspire me, coach me. He made my voice better. He inspired my voice in ways no one else could. The way I felt when I was around him was a way no one had ever made me feel. Upon hearing his beautiful, almost angelic voice, I would hold my breath, and my heart would beat a thousand times a minute. When we sang together, I was in awe with his voice. When he touched me, I felt as though I might faint, but it was because of knowing it wasn't a dream. He used to make me feel safe. I used to feel calm when I was around him. Going down those catacombs to his lair was magical, as was going back up to the auditorium. Singing to him, and him singing to me as we walked down felt...breathtaking. However, soon, all I could think about was fear and hatred, directed toward a man who was born in hell, but secretly yearned for heaven. A man who was deemed disfigured and ugly to the world, yet he secretly dreamed of beauty. He dreamed of happiness. He dreamed of finding someone to love, someone who could love him back. Someone who could look beyond the face, and learn to love the man for his soul, not his appearance. Someone to be his forever and always. Someone who he could call beautiful everyday. Someone he could wake up next to every morning.

I thought I loved him; I thought I could trust him. I know he loved me, and continues to love me to this day. Yet still, he frightens me. He has caused me tragedy and misery. When I look at the rose, all I can think about is the way he murdered my father, Nancy, and how he tried to kill Daniel. Yet despite all of this...I may still love him. I could've looked past his face, the trouble it has caused him. Soon, it showed no fear for me, because in his soul, he was deformed. I could've loved him, even with the face he had, yet he caused me too much pain. I could never have learned to love him after what he did. He did it without a thought. I could never love someone as horrible and mad as him.

Every year on my birthday, July 21st, I get a rose with a black ribbon tied around it. I never throw them away. While this act causes me pain, it shows he still loves me, even if I can't love him. He ruined me. He murdered me on the inside, and yet this love...may not go unreciprocated. I cannot help but feel a sort of demented attraction to such a demented man.

Many people said he had the face of death. They said that if you saw him, or knew too much, he would hang you with his magic lasso, as if it were a noose. They told people to keep a hand at the level of your eye, because he couldn't put the lasso over your hand, so you may have a chance to live. He was described as having no nose, but simply a hole in its place. They said he had so little facial skin that you could see his brain. His shriveled up, black, demented brain. Those people, however, were all wrong. He didn't look anything like what they said. He didn't look like the face of death. They were wrong about his appearance, but they were right about his personality. They were right about how he would murder without a thought, as though he had no conscience, as though he had no soul, as though he was just an empty shell.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The clipboard was posted the second week of school. There was nothing that had happened that morning that would make me think that anything exciting or even moderately interesting would happen.

"Christine, you have to come see this," my friend Heather told me when I was at my locker.

"What is it?" I asked her.

She took my hand, and before I could even close my locker, or grab any of the stuff I needed, she dragged me all around our school to the auditorium to find it. A signup sheet for the school's production of _The Phantom of the Opera_. I started to grin a little bit. I had always wanted to be Christine Daae, and I loved the story of _The Phantom of the Opera_ , all the singing, the dancing, and just the story in general.

"You have to try out for Christine!" Heather yelled at me. I'd always wished she would be a little more quiet, because I felt like all the people in the hallway could hear us, but by then, 12 years into our friendship, I had gotten quite used to it.

"No, I'm not good enough," I answer, calmly and quietly, so maybe Heather would get the message to be a little bit quieter.

But I knew that I was good enough. I knew I could be Christine Daae if I wanted to. I knew I was a good singer, dancer, and actress. I had been doing this kind of stuff all my life, yet now that I was getting the chance, I was backing away from it.

It was as though Heather knew what I was thinking.

"You know you can do this," she told me. "You've been doing this all your life. You know you can sing, you know you can dance, and you know you can act. And I know if there's something you can't do, you will learn and practice it until you can do it. You can do this, Christine. I know you can."

She wrote my name down, in pen, so no one, including me, could erase it.

"Heather...the sign-up sheet says auditions are today after school. What am I supposed to sing? What if I forget the words? What if I mess up really badly, Heather?" I ask, turning to look at her. I didn't know what to sing. I knew all the words to all the songs, yet when I tried to think of one, my mind went blank. It was as though the idea of singing in front of people made everything I know disappear. I was afraid of being rejected. I was afraid of being told I wasn't good enough, or that I just barely missed it.

"You've always wanted to be Christine Daae. You know, like, ALL the words to ALL the songs. Christine, I know you can do this, I just know you can. I believe in you," Heather said, placing her hands on my shoulders and shaking me gently.

Before I could respond, the bell rang and we had to rush to class. I had to go back to my locker to get all my stuff. Just as I was about to close it, I saw a red petal, taken from a rose, in there. It felt soft, like velvet, in my fingers. I knew who it was from. I put it back in there, closed, and locked it.

All I could think about for the rest of the day was the audition. What if I got the role? What if I didn't get the role? What if they told me I was amazing? What if they all laughed at me? What would my teacher think? My teacher, the man who coached me everyday. The man who inspired my voice, who made me love singing, and seemingly gave my life new meaning after my mother died.

Whenever I would go to the auditorium alone to sing, he would always come out. He taught me so many things I had never even thought about. He taught me useful voice exercises, how to breathe in such a way that I could go higher, and how to increase my breath support. He taught me how to stand or sit properly while singing, and how to open my mouth to achieve maximum sound and tone quality. Yet the most important thing he taught me was to sing as though it would be my last time. As though I could never sing again. Even now, the feeling of those words entering my ears for the first time resonates within my very soul.

Whenever I was around him, I felt calm. I felt safe with him beside me. He cared for me like no one else ever had. The way he talked to me, it was in a way that no one had ever and could ever talk to me. When I was with him, my fears dissipated, and my anger and sadness were nonexistent. It was as if they were never there.

. . .

A year ago, my mom died. She had been driving to work, when she was hit by someone who was texting and driving. She was dead before she even got to the hospital, even before the ambulance came. I always felt so sad, so alone without her. Even when I was surrounded by friends, I felt lonely and sad. Hanging out with Heather lost its fun, and I cried a lot. The only outlet for this depression, the only thing that would give me solace, was singing.

One day, when no one was there, I went into the auditorium, and started to sing "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", from _The Phantom of the Opera_ , from the scene in which Christine Daae was singing in the graveyard. I sang it because the song reflected how I felt. It reflected the sadness and loneliness I felt churning within me. Christine sang about her deceased father, and I sang about my deceased mother. I wanted to hear my mother's voice again; to hear her laugh, to see her smile.

There's a reason I love _The Phantom of the Opera_ as much as I do. I love it because I can relate to Christine. I can relate to the pain of losing a parent who wasn't just that, but a friend also. I felt like my world had been shattered. She was all that mattered to me. We had so many good memories together, and our time to make more had been cut short.

When I had finished the song, a voice in the distance called to me."Wandering child, so lost, so helpless, yearning for my guidance," it sang.

"Angel of music, guide and guardian! Grant to me your glory! Angel of music, hide no longer! Secret and strange angel," I sang to the voice in the distance.

We had a conversation for an hour. We talked about how I could sound better, and he told me he would like to teach me whenever he could. Before I left, he wanted me to sing him another song. I know I shouldn't have trusted him, but I did. So I sang "Ave Maria".

"She was lost in so many different ways, out in the darkness with no guide. I know the cost of a losing hand. Never thought that grace of God, oh I…

"I found heaven on earth, you are my last, my first. And then I hear this voice inside...Ave Maria," my voice started to get stronger and stronger. "I've been alone when I'm surrounded by friends. How could the silence be so loud?But I still go home knowing that I've got you, there's only us when the lights go down. You are my heaven on earth, you are my hunger, my thirst. I always hear this voice inside… singing Ave Maria," it now feels as though I'm singing to him.

"Sometimes love can come and pass you by, while you're busy making plans. Suddenly hits you, and then you realize. . . it's out of your hands… baby, you've got to understand.

"You are my heaven on earth, you are my last, my first. And then I hear this voice inside… Ave Maria, Ave Maria,Ave Maria…" I finish strong, and wait for my critique.

People came in to the auditorium before he could respond though, and I had to run away. As I was leaving, a rose with a black ribbon dropped from out of nowhere. Tied to the stem was a note that said:

Christine,

You are my angel of music, and I am your teacher. You sing beautifully, yet your skills can be refined. I will train you. Come into the auditorium whenever you can. However, I have one rule. You must always come alone. If you don't, I will not come to you.

O.G.

He kept his promise. Whenever I would go down there alone, I would hear his voice in the distance. We would sing for hours at a time. If I was at home though, sometimes I could still hear his voice in the distance. He would comfort me when I lay in bed. In my dreams, he was always there. He also stuck to his rule though. If anyone ever came down with me, he would never appear. He would stay in the shadows, and never speak, yet I could feel that he was here with me. I never got another rose again, but I planted the one he gave me in the garden of my home, and it always bloomed in the spring. He would give me words of encouragement, words of hope, words of comfort.

Slowly, I started to get better. I stopped crying so much, and I wasn't sad all the time. I had more fun with my friends. I laughed a lot more than I ever had. Just thinking about hearing his voice again made me happy.

He made a change in me, that no one else could. Soon, my dad started to notice also, yet he never said anything about it. I think he was just glad that he hadn't lost me as well. I'd never thought of it before, but before I met Erik, I think my dad felt I was leaving him also. It seemed selfish to wallow in self-pity, and have him suffer. The thought of him having to go through not only losing his wife, but his only daughter also, was too much for me to bear.

Even so, my father still suffered. He loved my mother so much. They would watch TV together all the time, and they would go on date nights. Sometimes, we would all get together and watch a movie on Netflix. My mother didn't really like to go out to dinner that much. She wanted to keep practicing her cooking, so she made dinner for us almost every night. She taught me how to make lots of things. My favorite thing to do with her was baking cookies and cakes. We always made birthday cakes, and we liked to make food and treats for her colleagues and coworkers.

Mom and dad liked to go to dinner sometimes and on their anniversary, every year, they went on a three to four day cruise. When they came home, they would never tell me anything, but they'd tell me that one day, we'd all go on one together, but we never did.

They would try to hide it, but I knew they fought a lot. They fought about lots of things: money, bills, taxes, how to clean the house, how to make a bed...the list goes on. They would fight for the most inconsequential reasons, but their fights never lasted long. In the end, mother always seemed to "win" the fight. If she said to not do something a certain way, they would argue, but in the end, father would do it how she wanted him to.

When I was little, when they used to say how much they loved each other, I wondered why they fought. I wondered why they would fight so much if they claimed they loved each other. As I got older though, I realized that was just what people couples do. They fight, then they make up. It quickly got tiresome to listen to them fight, so I began to plug in earphones, to block them out. Even if I was just playing a game, I would listen to the sounds or music of the game. It didn't have to be music, it just had to be enough to block them out.

I wanted to do well for O.G., yet the only thing I could do was sing my heart out, and hope I did well.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

At the end of the day, I walked into the auditorium, sat down, and waited for them to call my name. I had to watch everyone else audition before I could go, because Christine was last, and there were a lot of girls who wanted to be Christine.

First, they got the dancers together and they went through the songs for about a half an hour. They would still have to do a lot of practicing though, because they weren't trained dancers, but none of them were really bad. They did really well in the ballet in _Hannibal_ , except none of them could get on their very tip toes. However, when I saw them dance, all I could think about were professionally trained ballerinas. They weren't professionals, but they loved what they did, and they were all graceful.

Next, they did the audition for Andre and Firmin, the men who become the new owners of the Opera Populaire. As I saw the audition, I thought of how much trouble those two new managers caused. If they had just followed the Phantom's orders like Lefevre had, things could have been okay for them. Most of the auditions for Andre and Firmin weren't very good, yet some of the people were really funny with how enthusiastic they were. The last pair they put together were named Dylan and Aaron. When they sang the song "Notes", they started to do hand movements, and they were both dressed up for the part.

"Mystery after gala night, it says mystery of soprano's flight," Dylan sang. "Mystified, all the papers say. We are mystified, we suspect foul play. Bad news on soprano scene, first Carlotta, now Christine. Well, at least the seats get sold. Gossip's worth its weight in gold."

They went through the whole song, both working together. They acted like they chose to pair up together, not that they were told to.

Then, they did Reyer, Lefevre, and Piangi, but only one person tried out for each of them. When they did Meg Giry next, I got a huge surprise. Heather was trying out for the part. I never knew Heather could sing, yet she was singing beautifully.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I had heard Heather sing a little bit, but she always stopped when I was near. She even looked the part. She had curly blonde hair, like Meg was supposed to have, she was short, and graceful, and she had that air of innocence. She was also full of life, maybe a little too full of life sometimes.

"I watched your face from the shadows. Distant through all the applause. I hear your voice in the darkness. Yet the words aren't yours," she was singing a part from the song "Angel of Music".

Next, they did Madame Giry. Many girls wanted to be her, yet none of them were very good until Megra came up. Megara is a French girl who can be nice at times, yet stern, and she could really sing, so it seemed as though she would be the perfect fit for Madame Giry. She was intimidating to everyone, and everyone gave her respect, something no one else got in the whole school. I only hoped the judges would think she was the perfect fit for Madame Giry also.

Next, they did Carlotta, but only one girl tried out for it. I think only one, Dawn, tried out for it, because Carlotta isn't liked by very many people, but Dawn was really good in her audition. She did some singing from the song "Prima Donna", then she did some speaking. I must say, she would be able to pull off being a diva. The way she yelled some of the lines, and the way she fake cried, was amazing.

"For the past three years these thing do happen. And did you stop these things from happening? No," she yells and points to no one in particular. "And you two! You are as bad as him! These things do happen? Argh… Until you stop these things from happening, this thing does not happen!" she walks off the side of the stage, and back to her seat.

Finally, they were doing the three main characters, Raoul, the Phantom, and Christine. They decided to start off with Raoul. I was really surprised when only one person auditioned. I would have thought with a part as big as Raoul, many people would have tried out for it, but I was wrong.

The boy who was doing it was named Daniel. He was in a lot of my classes, and he had a reputation for being a nice person to everyone. He looked the part. He had brown hair, blueish green eyes, and he, like Heather, had an air of innocence, and looked so full of life. He wasn't very popular, but he seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to like him. He always greeted me whenever we saw each other, and he loved _The Phantom of the Opera_ just as much as I did. I remember the first day of school when he came up to me.

"You're Christine, right?" he asked me.

"Yes, why do you want to know?" I asked.

"No, it's just that I love _The Phantom of the Opera_ a lot, and the main character's name is Christine Daae," he explained.

"I know. I love it also," I smiled.

"Oh cool. I just wanted to point out that your name is pretty."

"Thanks."

"Yet, I might just call you Little Lotte."

I laughed out loud. "Okay, I won't be mad."

"See you around, Little Lotte."

We both went separate ways, and fro that day on, he called me Little Lotte. Going back to the audition, I hoped he got the role of Raoul. He really deserved it.

Then, they did the audition for the Phantom. Many people were trying out, yet only one, Ryan, seemed to sing with any passion. He sang as though he wanted to do nothing else but be the Phantom. He sang as though he was singing to Christine, as though she was up on the stage with him. Yet he was standing and singing up there, all alone.

Finally, it was time for the last role. Christine Daae. The lead. They called the first name up. It was Nancy. She strutted, and I mean _strutted_ up to and around the stage. It reminded me of the song "Why So Silent", when he tells Carlotta she should stop strutting around the stage. Then, she needed to sing "Think of Me". When she did, she reminded me of a bad version of Carlotta. Then, they called the next name. It was mine.

I went up to the stage, and started to sing "Think of Me".

"Think of me, think of me fondly. When we've said goodbye," I had already messed up on goodbye. I hadn't sung it long enough. "Remember me, once in awhile, promise me you'll try," I messed up at the end of the line again. I could see the judges shaking their heads.

Then I saw it. He was there. O.G. He was watching my audition. When I turned my face to the audience, I could see a huge crowd. It was only then that I knew I could do it.

"On that day, that not so distant day. When you are far away and free. If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me."

I thought the music would die down, but it kept going. They died it down for Nancy after that line. Maybe they wanted to see what I could do. Maybe they wanted to see if I would mess up again, or if I could get stronger and better.

"We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea. But if you can still remember, stop and think of me" I just couldn't stop. "Think of August when the trees were green. Don't think about the way things might have been. Think of me, think of me waking, silent and resigned. Imagine me, trying to hard to put you from my mind. Recall those days, look back on all those times. Think of the things we'll never do. There will never be a day, when I don't think of you," everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats.

"Can it be? Can it be Christine? Bravo!" I heard from someone. I look over and see the CD player. It is playing the song, yet it wasn't the thing playing Raoul's part. Maybe I was just hearing it in the distance from O.G. It didn't seem as though anyone else could hear it. "Long ago, it seemed so long ago, how young and innocent we were. She may not remember me, but I remember her."

I started to sing again. "Flowers fade, the fruits of summers fade. They have their season, so do we. But please promise me that sometimes, you will think… of me!" I finished strong. When I finished, everyone was clapping and cheering. Heather was shrieking, yet Nancy was silent, and giving me a dirty look.I realized that I actually had a chance of being cast as Christine. I felt confident. If I could do this, face my fear, I was ready for anything.

When I looked over, O.G. was gone. But he wasn't. I could still feel him. He was there, watching me. Yet where he had stood was a red rose with a black ribbon tied to it, his trademark. I walked over, and picked it up. Attached to it was a note:

My Angel of Music,

You were great. You grew more confident, and your voice grew stronger and stronger. Do not forget about me. I know I will never be able to forget you. I need you. I need you to serve me, to sing for me. And I know I need to sing to and for you. Come to the auditorium soon. I want you to see something.

I remain, and will always be, both your teacher and friend.

O.G.

My heart started to beat a thousand miles a minute. I went back to my seat, still holding the rose in my hand. I was getting pats on the back, and friends were hugging me, but none of it mattered to me. I decided to watch the rest of the auditions to see how well the rest of the girls did. But I wasn't really paying attention. I kept looking at the rose, to make sure it wasn't a dream, that it was real. It meant he hadn't forgotten me. He still wanted to see me, to teach me. He wanted me to come back to him. He wanted to sing for and to me, and he wanted me to do the same for him.

I needed to go to see him again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

She sang like an angel. She sang beautifully. Little Lotte. Christine West sang beautifully.

"Daniel!" I heard my name behind me. I turned around and saw the person who was talking to me was Nancy. "Hey, you did a really good audition!"

I wanted to wince, she was just too perky and peppy for me, but I didn't, because that would be rude.

"Thank you," I said politely.

"Did you like my audition?"

"It was very unique." When I say that, I see her face fall just a little, but she puts on a smile soon enough. I'm grinning on the inside, knowing that touched a nerve in her.

"I did my best. I really hope I get the role of Christine!"

"I wish you luck. You have some competition."

"Who could possibly be giving me any competition?"

"Christine West."

"Oh yeah, her," she frowns a little bit when she says that, but soon her smile is back on, bigger, and somewhat forced.

"She was really good. She sang as though she was made for the role. She sang with passion."

"She was okay."

"Okay? She was magnificent! She sang with all of her heart. It was as though all she wanted to do was sing. Like that was all that mattered to her."

"Okay Daniel, well I have to go," she is trying to shut me up. She doesn't like that she isn't the center of attention, that she was upstaged.

"I wish you luck on getting the role. Just hope and pray." I chuckle, but nothing I said was funny.

"Thank you Daniel. You're a kind person. Your girlfriend is lucky to be with such a great guy."

"I don't have a girlfriend."

Oh, you don't?"

I shook my head. Everyone in the school knew everything about everyone. Everyone knew who was dating who, or anything going on in your life. Nancy was sure to know I didn't have a girlfriend. I had to get out of this conversation.

"Bye Nancy," I say, then walk past her, out of the school.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

That night, father asks me about school, and how the audition went.

"It was fine. I messed up the end for the first two lines. Then I started to get some more confidence, and I got stronger and stronger, and at the end, I was given a standing ovation," I tell him.

"Do you think you'll get the role?" he asks me.

"I hope. I feel like I did the best. I'll know tomorrow though. That's when the cast list will be posted."

"And how are your grades?" he looks me square in the eye when he asks me that.

"A in math, language arts, gym, art, science. B in social studies," I say, looking down at my plate.

"Christine," he says. I look up at him. "The A's I'm very proud of. Good job. You need to get that B up though, or I may not let you do the play."

I know the drill. He tells me of the importance of doing schoolwork, then tells me how he didn't do well in school, and that he doesn't want me to do poorly. Then he gives me a punishment, usually I have to do the dishes, or I can't watch tv. Sometimes if it is really bad though, like a C, I'm grounded for a week.

"If you get it up, you can do the play. If not, you won't."

"Yes father."

"But you need a punishment."

"Of course."

"How about you do the dishes tonight? We'll let it go then."

"Yes father."

We leave the table when we are done. He puts the dishes in the sink for me.

"Goodnight sweetheart," he tells me, kissing me on the head. "If you have time when you're done with the dishes and your homework, you can go down into the basement to practice your singing and piano."

"Thank you. Sleep well."

"You too. Love you."

"Love you more."

"Love you most."

With that, he goes upstairs to take a shower while I start the dishes. I love my father, and I'm okay with his rules, but I wish sometimes he would relax a little. I know how important school is, and I take it seriously, I really do.

My father is a kind, and gentle person, but he is also very strict about grades. Soon the dishes are done, so I go to take a shower, and do my homework.

I go into my room. It is a big room, with a television, a computer, and my own phone. The walls are a soft blue, like the sky. The bedspread is black, with colorful pillows.

I sit at the desk with the computer, pull out my math and social studies homework, and start to work. I turn off my phone to avoid distraction. I need to do well on this homework to get my grades up. I have to do the play. I know the Phantom would be disappointed in me if I couldn't. He would be even more disappointed if it was because of a B in a class, something I could have avoided.

I finish in about half an hour. I walk from my room to my father's room, and knock on the door.

"Come in," he says. I walk in, and see he is watching tv. "What is it Christine?"

"I really want to get my grades up, so I was wondering if you would please check my homework to make sure it is right," I say.

"Of course," he says, turning on his bedside lamp.

I give him the paper and wait there as he checks it.

"Go brush your teeth," he tells me, not taking taking his eyes off of the papers.

I go and brush my teeth for the second time in the last hour.

"Christine, I'm done," he yells to me.

I walk into the room, and he hands me the paper.

"Good job," he high fives me. "It's all right."

I smile. "Thank you father. Goodnight."

"You have about an hour to practice downstairs."

"Okay."

"Sleep well."

"And you." I leave the room. I love my father, but ever since mom died, things are never the way they used to be. He still loves me, hugs me, and gives me high-fives, but things just aren't the same at all. He doesn't smile the same way, he doesn't talk to me the same way. He doesn't high five me the same way.

I go down to the basement. Father doesn't like loud and high singing, so when I was seven, mom convinced him to soundproof the walls and the ceiling so that I could go down there. I could sing, and play the piano as loud as I wanted to, and they wouldn't be able to hear it.

My mother had wanted me to do whatever I wanted to do, and singing was the best thing for me. I loved it. Singing high and low. I loved the feeling of singing the long notes. I loved the feeling of the piano keys on my fingers. Music was amazing to me.

"Angel I hear you, speak I listen. Stay by my side, guide me. Angel, my soul was weak, forgive me. Enter at last master," I sing.

"Flattering child, you shall know me. See why in shadows I hide. Look at your face in the mirror. I am there inside," I hear the Phantom sings in the distance.

I turn around to the mirror and gasp. He's there, the Phantom of the Opera. I grab blanket and cover the mirror out of fear, then go to the piano. I play the song _Overture_ on the piano, then go upstairs to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

I'm in what looks like a lair. There are candles all around to light it up. There is a lake, and a boat. I know this has something to do with O.G., but he is nowhere to be found. I am at the shore, barefoot, in bright sand. I am singing higher and higher. I hear music, but I have no idea where it is coming from. It seems as though it might only just be an echo. There is a piano or organ up some steps, overlooking the whole place. As I walk around, I keep on singing. I can't seem to stop. I try, but I just can't. When I try to stop, I just keep singing higher and higher.

There is another set of bigger steps that goes up to rooms. One has a bed, shaped as a swan the other has a dress. When I get a closer look at it, I realise it is a wedding dress. There are shoes on the ground, and a necklace on the mannequin the dress is on. I turn around, wanting to leave. I'm becoming afraid. I don't know where I am, and I don't want the person who lives here to come in and see me, and hear me singing. I go down the steps and see that there is a gate separating me from the exit. I look out of the corner of my eye and see a lever. I got up to it. It is a rusty old thing that's cold to the touch. The first time I try to get it to move one way, it won't budge. I take my hands off, and wipe them on my pants. Then I take a deep breath and put my hands back on the lever. I push, and push, until it starts to budge. My hands are screaming, and I can feel that I have cut them. I open my eyes to look, and see blood dripping from the lever, and I know it has come from my hands. I keep pushing, ignoring the now burning sensation, until the gate starts to open.

I let go, and put my hands in the lake water. When I emerge them from the misty water, I see there is no trace of any cut or injury. I look back at the lever, and see that there is no trace of blood.

I feel my breath becoming more frequent, and I'm anxious to get out of there. I walk into the water, and it feels good on my legs, so I close my eyes and sigh. When I open them, I see I'm wearing the dress that was on the mannequin. I feel the shoes on, and when I touch my chest, I feel the necklace. It is in the shape of a heart, and I can tell it is a diamond. I start to run as fast as I can in the water to the gate, which isn't very fast, due to how heavy the dress is.

When I get to the gate, I climb onto a small wall of cement. I'm lying on my side, fatigue starts to take over. I force myself to stand up, and go to a set of steps. In my mind, it looks as though there are a thousand steps. I take a deep breath, and start to go up them.

I count the steps.

"1, 2, 3, 4," I say out loud.

At step 150, my breathing starts to get lighter and lighter. I stop and sit on the step. It takes about five minutes, but soon, I can breath again. I start to walk up the step slower.

"Child of the wilderness, born into emptiness," I sing. "Learn to be lonely, learn to find your way in darkness. Who will be there for you? Comfort and care for you? Learn to be lonely, learn to be your one companion. Never dreamed out in the world. There are arms to hold you. You've always known your heart was on its own. So laugh in your loneliness, child of the wilderness. Learn to be lonely, learn how to love life that is lived alone. Learn to be lonely, life can be lived, life can be loved alone."

It seems as though I'm going up the steps faster, and at the end of the song, I'm at a door. I open it, and see only darkness.

When I go into the room, the door slams behind me, and I whip around and try to turn it, only to realise someone has locked it on the other side. A light is turned on, and I have to squint for a little bit so my eyes can adjust to the brightness. When my eyes have adjusted, I see that I'm in a small room, surrounded by mirrors. I keep spinning around, trying to find a way out, when a lasso drops out of the ceiling. I scream, and faint.

When I wake up, I can't breath, and I am in a cold sweat.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

I'm thinking about Christine West now. Her dark brown hair, her curls, soft in your fingers, easy to run through. The way she looks at you with those eyes. Those big, moss colored eyes. When she smiles at you, she looks beautiful. Her smile and laugh is contagious. When she smiles at you you just want to smile for the rest of the day. When she looks at you with those eyes, you want to melt on the inside. She is beautiful. Her touch is soft. Her fingers, the skin is smooth. Her touch is bliss. The feel of her hands on you is soft. It takes my breath away. My heart beats a thousand miles a minute.

My phone beeps. Someone has texted me. It is Nancy.

 _I was wondering if sometime you wanted to go out,_ it says.

 _As friends?_ , I ask.

 _No, on like a date._

 _I'm sorry Nancy, but I only think of you as a friend._

 _Oh…_

I turn my phone off. She's just too much.

I fall asleep, thinking about Christine.

In my dream, I'm in some kind of lair. There are different rooms, if you could call them rooms. One of them has a bed, in the shape of a swan, and the other has a dress, with shoes at the bottom, and a necklace around the neck of the mannequin the dress is on.

I go down some steps, and in the middle is an organ. I'm starting to get scared, so I go into the water, and out of the place, through a gate halfway open. I hear a noise behind me. I turn around and see a man in a mask, wearing old-fashioned clothing, about an inch away from my face.

When I wake up, I'm in a cold sweat.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

The next day, the cast was posted. Megara got Madame Giry, Dylan and Aaron got Andre and Firmin, Heather got to be Meg, Dawn was Carlotta, Daniel was Raoul, and Ryan was the Phantom. Then I looked down to see that I got the role of Christine Daae. It was as though my heart had soared. I only hoped my father would let me do this play.

"Good job, Christine," said a voice in my ear.

I turned around and Daniel was right behind me.

"I thought I was Little Lotte," I said.

"Well, in the play I call you Little Lotte, so I decided that maybe now I should call you Christine. Besides, like I've said before, you have a beautiful name."

"If I remember correctly Daniel, you said I had a _pretty_ name, not a beautiful one."

"Well, then, I take that back. You don't have a _pretty_ name. You have a _beautiful_ one."

"Okay, now this is getting a little too cheesy for me," I laugh as I say that.

He put his arm on my shoulders. "I'm going to walk you to class, 'kay?" he asked.

I sighed. "I suppose so."

We both walked to art class, laughing. When we got in there, we sat next to each other, and just talked the whole time.

"I wish I could have gotten to know you better sooner," he said to me.

"And I you," I said back.

I had a good day, yet in the back of my mind, I knew I had to go to the auditorium. He would be waiting for me there.

When the day ended and everyone had gone, I went into the auditorium, turned on one of the stage lights, went up to the stage, and sang.

"But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound. In the night, there was music in my mind. With his music, my soul began to soar. And I heard as I've never heard before," I sang with all of my heart.

"My angel of music," I heard someone sing behind me.

He was there. My teacher. The one who has inspired my voice.

O.G, Opera Ghost.

 _My_ Phantom of the Opera.


	9. Chapter 9

I turn around and he is there.. In his signature white half face mask.

"My angel of music," he sang again.

"Angel of music, guide and guardian, grant to me your glory. Angel of music, hide no longer, secret and strange angel," I sang to him.

"I am your angel of music. Come to me angel of music," he sang to me as he offered me his hand, which I took. We went off of the stage, behind the scenes. He lead me down a set of auditorium steps I didn't know existed. I felt entranced, yet then I stopped, out of fear. How could I trust him? That was what Christine Daae did in _The Phantom of the Opera_ , and look at what happened to her.

Yet how could I not trust him? How could I not trust the man who made my life have new meaning? How could I not trust the man who inspired my voice? How could I leave? Was there a way out? Did I want to know the way out?

He comes up to me.

"What is it Angel?" he asks. He tries to gently brush my cheek with his fingers, yet I turn my face away.

He softly grabs my hand and touches my waist which makes me turns to face him, to trust him, to fall back under his spell.

He lets go of my waist, but leads me by the hand, further away from the light of the auditorium.

"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me, and speaks my name. And do I dream again, for now I find… the Phantom of the opera is here inside my mind," I didn't realise I was singing, yet when I was around him, I felt the urge to sing.

"Sing once again with me, our strange duet. My power over you, grows stronger yet. And though you turn from me, to glance behind… the Phantom of the opera is here inside your mind," he sang.

We were going down some steps and I hadn't realized it. I looked around and saw that we were going down steps that looked familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I felt like I knew where I had seen it, but I just couldn't figure it out.

"Those who have seen your face, draw back in fear. I am the mask you wear."

"It's me they hear."

"Your spirit and my voice, in one combined. The Phantom of the opera is here, inside my mind," we sang together, yet instead he was singing it about me.

We were nearing a boat over a lake. It was just like _The Phantom of the Opera_ , and even though I shouldn't have, I trusted him wholeheartedly. He helped me sit in the boat, then he started to row us away from the shore, into the rest of the catacombs. The boat ride wasn't long, and soon we were in his lair. He gave me his hand to get out of the boat. I then realized where I had seen this from. The steps, the boat, the lake, the candles, the lair. It was all from my dream. Everything was perfect. I was right about it all. Everything I had dreamt was here, and in the same place, the same position.

"In all your fantasies, you always knew. That man and mystery," he sang.

"Were both in you," I sang back to him.

"And in this labyrinth, where night is blind. The Phantom of the opera is here, inside my mind," we chanted as he took me by the hand and led me around his lair.

"He's here, the Phantom of the opera," I sang. I couldn't stop staring at him. I was mesmerized.

"Sing," he demanded me. I started to sing higher, and higher, and higher, until finally, I sang an E flat. Soon, we were facing each other, staring intently.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

He leaned closer to my ear. "Erik," he whispered under a light sigh.

He started to lean in to kiss me, but I turned away. I had no idea who he was, or why he wanted me. It was all too much. I felt dizzy, and fainted.


	10. Chapter 10

When I wake up, I'm lying in a beautiful bed… shaped like a swan. Just like the one in my dream. I get up, and walk out of the room, to where I hear a piano, or an organ, playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". I can feel my breathing getting heavier.

 _Please don't faint again_.

I stumble, and Erik turns around as though he noticed me for the first time. He quickly gets up out of the piano seat, takes my hand and leads me slowly down the stairs.

"I'm sorry," I say, embarrassed.

"You've been through a lot," he whispers in my ear, which makes me want to faint stops to let me regain my composure. "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination," he sang to me as we slowly started to walk down the steps again. "Silently the senses, abandon their defenses."

We're at the bottom of the steps now, and I see he is leading me either to the organ, or in front of it.

"Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender," he gently turned my face away from his. His fingers are soft, warm. They feel smooth against my face."Turn your face away, from the garish light of day. Turn your face away from cold, unfeeling light. And listen to the music of the night."

I look back at him, and he leaves me and goes closer to the organ.

"Close your eyes, and surrender to your darkest dreams. Leave all thought of the life you knew before. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar," my eyes had been closed and I had been holding in a breath. I let it out and opened my eyes.

He came down, and gently held the bottom of my face in his hands. His touch was gentle against my face. His skin on my skin felt soft, gentle.

"And you'll live as you've never lived before." He let go of my face, but grabbed both of my hands in his, and led me up to the piano while singing.

"Softly, deftly, music shall caress you. Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you," he was just a few inches away from my face. He slowly put his hands up into my curly hair, and got even closer to me. "Open up your mind. Let your fantasies unwind! In this darkness that you know you cannot fight."

He was slowly walking backwards and putting his hands up in the air, as though he wanted me to look all around his lair again, which I did. I felt safe here. I felt the exact opposite way I felt in the dream. In the dream, I felt scared, anxious, and unprotected. Here though, with him, I felt safe, warm, and calm.

"The darkness of the music of the night. Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world. Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be!" I had been breathing heavily again, and I couldn't help it. He sang the last part loudly, making me feel breathless and mystified.

Erik came back and gently touched my upper arms. I still felt breathless.

"Only then, can you belong to me." Erik slowly turned me around and was holding my hand with one of his, and put his other hand on my chest. Then, he started to slowly lower it down to my stomach, then to the side of my thigh."Floating, falling, sweet intoxication," he brought my hand with one of his, and put it gently to the side of his face, right on his mask. "Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation."

He let me go, but I didn't want him to. I wanted him to hold me again. He gave me comfort. I wanted him to hold me longer. I wanted to feel his hands in my hair, his skin against mine. I noticed he was smiling at me as though he could read my mind, yet he kept on walking. All the sudden, he yanked me closer to him, my face a few inches from his, his hands wrapped around me. Then he let go again.

"Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in. To the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night," his voice took my breath away. "You alone can make my song take flight. Help me make the music of the night," he sang softly in my ear.

With him so close to me, I felt safe. My breathing was getting heavier. My chest was moving up and down because of it. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and gently tilted my head away. I stopped breathing when his lips touched my neck. They traveled up to just under my ear when I felt dizzy again, and felt myself falling.


End file.
